


companionship can be a healer for the sick and lonely

by kivancalcite



Category: Playmobil: The Movie (2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Beating, Bruises, Cats, Concussions, Exhaustion, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Food, Gen, Head Injury, Hospitals, Injury, Internal Monologue, Light Angst, Near Death, Non-Graphic Violence, Pets, References to Drugs, Scarification, Showers, Stalking, Stitches, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Unconsciousness, he needs it, he's v good with animals, he's v sweet with all kinds of animals, i mean it's established in the film that he fosters abandoned dogs, it just feels right, rex gets free cat 'cause a) i'm a cat person and b) he deserves happiness, rex secretly likes b movies and slasher flicks, this is just really cute okay, why stop there?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 09:40:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28864941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kivancalcite/pseuds/kivancalcite
Summary: Rex is of course known to foster dogs, but he has his fair share of caring for other animals too. And when he usually gets back from another exhausting assignment, there's always someone waiting for him to get home, even if there are unpleasant reminders of his reality whenever he becomes truly alone with his own thoughts.
Relationships: Rex Dasher & Del, Rex Dasher & Original Animal Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	companionship can be a healer for the sick and lonely

It was a late night by the time Rex got back home. He hadn’t had the chance the last couple of nights because he hadn’t been able to shake a particular bunch of people off of his tail, so he ended up having to sleep in his car. His whole body ached from lying in awkward positions, from running, and he felt so dirty. His sleeves were rolled up and he held his jacket over his shoulder as he unlocked the door and stepped inside.

 _Ugh_ , he thought, throwing his jacket on the floor and switching on the light. He shut the door and slid down against it. He put his hands up to rub his eyes, and sighed.

_Mew?_

That was always a good thing to hear. He looked up, seeing a sleek black kitty with golden yellow eyes pad his way over to him. He laughed as she stopped next to him, nuzzling into his neck and licking near his face. He could feel that same warm purr he always did every time he got in. It was always something to look forward to.

“Heyyyy,” he said, in an amused tone, “ya missed me then huh? Sorry, I didn’t expect for this to happen.” He went to scratch the top of her head, feeling that contented vibration as always on his skin. Besides - it was quite soothing considering the level of bruises and scarring he’d endured. They were fading, but still tender. The warm softness of a cat helped to take his mind off of things like that.

He’d named her Amber after the striking colour of her eyes. He remembered he found her abandoned and half-starved in an alleyway, and was discreetly able to take her to a vets that he knew of near his work where he wasn’t as recognised. He usually took in animals like this, managing to find them new homes in the end. He just couldn’t keep them permanently considering everything, but she’d stuck round the longest. 2 years now, actually. He didn’t know what he would’ve done without her.

He stroked down her back and she sat up, tilting her head at her. God, he loved the way she looked at him with those eyes. No wonder he named her after them.

“Hey, yeah, I’ll go grab your dinner before I have a shower,” he said, pulling himself up and stretching, “I damn well need one.”

He picked his jacket back up, and strode towards the kitchen as best he could, her strolling next to him. Although, she then decided to go in front of him, meowing and going in between his legs, almost tripping him up. “Alright, alright, careful! D’you want your dinner before or after you make me fall over?” he asked, laughing, trying to step over her. He eventually made it to the kitchen, but not without falling into the door frame.

He always wondered how he managed to look after these animals, knowing him. His job was irregular enough without getting living things involved. He had enough trouble trying to keep the people he cared about from getting too close, and yet he always got super attached to animals enough to keep them. I mean, he was never really able to connect with his peers, instead preferring to hang out with the family cat and dog when he got home from school. Not that he didn’t like people - he cared about them a whole damn lot. He just wasn’t good at being able to be friendly with people, especially ones his own age.

Not that his parents seemed to care. He looked like he was alright, as far as he made them aware. They just seemed like a naturally distant family, and he just kept to himself.

He put the bowl of food down in front of her, since she was clearly eager. He’d been away for a bit but planned to be home earlier if it wasn’t for certain people that decided to follow him. He still wondered why, since he’d spent pretty much all his time trying to shake them off and wait it out in back alleys, make his car signal more secret and take a longer route home. He’d already had a late-night job somewhere else, he didn’t need this.

He unfortunately knew this came with who he was. He’d gotten rid of them, for now.

Fortunately, he wasn’t usually out for long, even if some enemies did manage to catch up to him. Of course, there’d be some scarring and bruising in the escape process, but many of them he found would have an easier way out. The others were more of a problem, but sure, they couldn’t keep him forever. He’d be damned if they ever did.

She went to work eating it, and bent down to scratch her head softly. “Heyyy, I knew you’d be hungry. I’m sorry I wasn’t here earlier, but I’m gonna be around here for a bit here. Maybe I can do some things from here,” he said with a small smile, “I’m not always one to want to be long anyway…some people just like to remind me how popular I am, and not in a good way, frankly enough.”

She was clearly more intent in the meal, but it was nice just to feel like he was talking to somebody. He had company, that was the main thing.

He stood up and left for the bathroom. He really did need that shower.

It was obvious how terrible he felt once he was in there. Everything really did ache, and places like his neck and shoulders always seem to sting in contact with warm water. It was hard to know just how much he seemed to bruise and scar, as even when they faded, there was always new ones. It hurt knowing how much he needed to cover up when he went out, especially in a more casual manner. He didn’t need the questions.

He had stopped though, hissing as his fingers, after putting his hands through his hair, went over a recent wound in the side of his head. He’d been so busy with everything else, he’d forgotten he actually got that recently treated with stitches. It wasn’t too big, but it really did sting now. He wondered why it took so long to remind himself even with what he’d been doing, especially with the number of times he’d put his hands through his hair and how much time he spent just trying to cover it up.

He ended up kinda just letting the water fall over him as he ran his fingers gently across it. He always seemed morbidly transfixed with his injuries, maybe because he didn’t have a whole lot of time to focus on much when he was doing jobs. And maybe because they were such heavy reminders of why they were there.

This was a particularly bad one, where he remembered he’d been in a fight after he’d managed to escape with something important, and blocked off on a street. He achieved a few bruises during it, but it got to a point where he was losing and stumbling on his feet. Seeing their opportunity, he was shoved sideways into the brick wall and fell to the ground almost instantly.

They took what they needed back from him, leaving him on the ground as if to die there. He wondered how he was still alive - and if it wasn’t for a much needed emergency call just beforehand, as much as his instincts said not to involve anyone, to Del who drove over with the truck, he pretty much wouldn’t have survived anyway. He’d remembered waking up in a small underground doctor’s place that both of them had been aware of, drowsy from sedation and his injury in a bed and stitches barely hidden by his hair. Del had been sitting next to him, absolutely relieved and grateful that his friend was still alive. It must have been funny to see him of all people lying in an absolute state practically comatose in an underground hospital.

He did have to laugh about it. He hoped it wasn’t the drugs he’d been given that made him look up and grin like an idiot at seeing his friend there over the moon and not worried sick. 

He pushed his hair back, blinking rapidly. He’d been here a while, standing under this stream of warm water. He did need it, feeling less strained, especially across his neck, back and shoulders. 

He should get out though. He couldn’t stand here all night. 

After he washed and got out, he heard the familiar sound of scratching at the bathroom door.

“Hey, Amber, I’m here,” he soothed, opening up the door once he’d put on his dressing gown to see her stretched out up against the door, claws unsheathed and staring up at him, “you can stop scratching the door now.”

She kept staring up at him, meowing, before she sat back down to lick her paws. He always found that adorable, watching her groom herself. She was always just as curious, whenever he went to use the hairdryer and she sat by his bed. 

It made him smile, thinking of the parallel. She was always there whenever he woke up, whether that was her sitting on him and pawing at his face, or watching from a distance near his bed. He still had a companion with him, even if he found it difficult to maintain close connections with people he cared about. He’d always been an animal person, and whenever he got in the door, he at least knew he had someone waiting for him. In each other’s ways, they relied so much on each other. It was comforting, understanding that. He could forget how lonely he felt when she was around, or even just knowing she was.

When he was eventually dressed in his pyjamas and dried his hair, being followed and watched by a warm load of black fur, he had ended up sitting in front of his TV with his dinner. Since he had quite the chaotic lifestyle, it was usually microwaveable, but he didn’t care. Amber was perched on the arm of the sofa as he ate, half tuned into one of his favourite B-movie sci-fis on the TV. Usually he could distract himself enough with these things, and not have to think about anything else.

He was chewing on some potato and staring past the screen when he was surprised by Amber pawing on his head to the point she was scratching on the stitched area and he practically jumped at the painful sensation, managing to save most of it from going on the floor. He grabbed at her paw and managed to pull away without catching anything, breathing heavily. He turned to look at her, not happy, but he couldn’t help himself.

“Hey, please don’t do that,” he said gently, stroking her head, “you can touch my head, just…not there please.”

She was really one of the few living things that could touch his head and end up messing his hair up. He could get self-conscious about his hair, and as much as he cared about others, he wasn’t keen on people just touching it. Especially with something like that underneath it.

She put her paw down and licked his face. Her breath smelled like chicken and he amusedly pushed her face away and licked his hands instead. “Hey!” he said, laughing, “I’ve just had a shower!”

She sat up, gazing at him with that head tilt. Of course, he didn’t think she understood. But for someone like him, he couldn’t care less. He was pretty much too tired to really want to, anyway. Care that she didn’t really understand the things he did or said. It wasn’t really the point.

 _Mrrrrow?_ she seemed to ask.

“I don’t know,” he yawned, looking back at his dinner and then the screen, “I think things are okay for now, maybe.” He stroked her down her back and turned around to her again with a soft smile. “Even if it’s just the two of us.”


End file.
